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Page 13 of 955 Results 121 - 130 of 9546

S. V. Malysheva, C. Streel, E. De Clercq, M. Andjelkovic, J. Masquelier
Occurrence of tropane alkaloids in foodstuffs and risks for the Belgian consumer

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are secondary metabolites produced by a variety of plants from the families of Brassicaceae, Convolvulaceae, Moraceae and Solanaceae. It is generally believed that plants produce these phytotoxins to defend themselves against damage by herbivorous animals or other invasive organisms. TAs affect heart rate, respiration and functions in the central nervous system. TAs are considered as a food safety issue, as food crops and herbs can be contaminated with TA-containing weeds during harvest or processing. TA levels in food are regulated under Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1408. The aim of this study was to design, develop and validate a simple and sensitive analytical method in support of the collection of occurrence data, human exposure estimation and health risk assessment associated with the intake of the most prominent TAs, atropine and scopolamine, via the dietary route. The analytical technique of choice was ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The sample preparation of cereal-based food, oilseeds, honey and pulses consisted of a solid-liquid extraction with an acidified mixture of methanol and water, while an additional step of solid-phase extraction on a cationexchange sorbent was introduced in the treatment of teas and herbal infusions, aromatic herbs, spices and food supplements. The limits of quantification of the method varied from 0.5 ug kg-1 to 2.5 ug kg-1. The method was applied to assess the presence of TAs in a set of commercial food products from the Belgian market. Of the total of 538 products, 26% contained atropine and/or scopolamine. Atropine was more frequently detected (24% of samples) compared to scopolamine (13%). The highest TA levels (up to 655 ug kg-1 for TA sum) were detected in herbal infusions and spices. The highest mean acute exposure to the sum of atropine and scopolamine was found for children via legumes, meat and dairy imitates and grains.

L. Kourimska, M. Kulma, P. Skvorova, M. Kurecka, M. Sabolova
Nutritional and sensory aspects of edible insects

Edible insects represent an interesting alternative source of protein and feed for animals (1). According to the latest data, there are 2111 species of edible insects that have been consumed by humans of different countries. The insect is also notable for its low greenhouse gas emissions, high feed conversion efficiency, low rearing costs, and the insect's ability to transform low-value organic by-products into high-value protein products. Insects contain 13-77 g of crude protein in 100 g of dry matter and include all essential amino acids important for a balanced diet. It also contains several non-protein nitrogenous substances such as chitin, taurine, and purines (2,3). Concerning lipids, their content in insects is 10-60 g/100 DM, and the major fatty acids are linoleic, palmitic, oleic, stearic, and linolenic. The composition of fatty acids depends mainly on the species, the life stage of the insect and the composition of the feed. When using insects as food, undesirable aspects such as allergens and antinutritional substances must also be considered. Heat treatment of insects also contributes to microbiological safety. An important aspect of accepting insects as food is also their sensory quality and overcoming neophobia in countries where insects are not traditionally consumed. This contribution therefore deals with the positive and negative aspects of entomophagy, summarizing the results of several years of research dedicated to the nutritional and sensory quality of edible insects: the effect of developmental stage, feed composition, sex, and rearing conditions on nutritional value of insects, purines, chitin, and taurine in insects, sensory analysis of insects and their acceptance by consumers.

A. Vehar, D. Potocnik, L. Strojnik, F. Strukelj Kucan, T. Zuliani, D. Heath, U. Vrhovsek, L. Kourimska, M. Kulma, E. Heath, N. Ogrinc
Characterization of Farmed Edible Insect Species

The world's population is expected to increase from the current 8 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050. To ensure food and feed security, environmentally sustainable food sources need to be found. Insects can serve as an excellent novel food source due to their high protein and nutritional content, rapid growth rates, high fertility and reproduction rate, efficient feed conversion, low ecological footprint, and ability to be farmed in a relatively small area with minimal water requirements (1). Additionally, insect farming can help reduce waste by valorizing agricultural by-products. The European Commission has so far approved four insects, namely yellow mealworm, migratory locust, house cricket and lesser mealworm, as novel foods. However, as with any food product, insect products need to be examined and monitored not only for their safety but also for quality and authenticity.In our work, we investigated three different farmed species: yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) and house cricket (Acheta domestica). The quality of the lyophilized insects was assessed regarding the amino acids, fatty acids, polyphenols and elemental composition using GC-MS, LC-MS/MS and ICP-MS. Safety has been assessed by calculating the risk to human health resulting from consuming potentially toxic elements. Also, antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effects have been measured. In addition, analysis of the stable isotopic composition of light elements (δ13C δ15N δ34S) has been performed using IRMS since isotopic ratios can discriminate among species and across diets and are important for establishing the authenticity of insect-based products. Within this presentation, the preliminary results of our study will be shown.

M. Z. Tsimidou
Metrological aspects in nanoencapsulation studies of saffron ( Crocus Sativus L.) bioactive antioxidants

Saffron, which is comprised of the dried stigmas of the pistil of the, Crotus sativus L., is the most expensive spice of the world per weight unit. This plant material is recognized as the unique edible source of certain bioactive apocarotenoids for which in vivo antioxidant properties have been reported. Among them, crocins, red-orange natural colorants, and their parent molecule crocetin prevail in bioactivity significance. The material is coming from the cultivated, sterile crocus plant, which presents limited natural variability in its chemical composition. Differences in the content of bioactive compounds is mainly influenced by epigenetic phenomena, agricultural and mainly processing practices. Recently, literature on nanoencapsulation of saffron bioactive compounds is accumulating. In the published studies there are certain metrological aspects that are not always considered carefully. These aspects are related to the authenticity and quality control of the starting material as well as the method applied for the extraction, identification and quantification of the target compounds throughout the encapsulation process, release, stability, bioavailability and bioactivity studies (1). The presentation gives examples for fit for the purpose procedures, which, if adopted as a standardized protocol, then repeatable and meaningful data will be obtained. Quantitative chromatographic or spectrophotometric procedures for the determination of the target compounds are highlighted. Authenticity control and quality of saffron samples and verification of the concentrations of compounds in commercial preparations labeled as 'crocin' are prerequisites in any experimental design setup.

P. Skvorova, M. Kulma, L. Kourimska
Influence of the effect rapeseed cake in feed on nutritional quality of Gryllus assimilis

Since 2003, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recognized the potential use of edible insects for food and feed and has supporteda line of topics related to edible insects. Jamaican field crickets (Gryllus assimilis) belong among the most promising edible insect species for production as food or feed. Crickets are generally artificially reared on the dried substrates, when soybean is used as a major protein component. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of replacement of soybean meal by rapeseed meal, the by-product from oil production. The crickets were provided by dried "chicken feed based" substrate, when 25, 50, 75 and 100% of soybean meal was replaced by rapeseed meal. Although there was an increase in fat content at the expense of protein, the resulting fatty acid profile in crickets feed rappesed cakes showed a lower proportion of saturated fatty acids and an improvement in the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. In conclusion, rapeseed cakes can be recommended as a possible alternative to soy feed for crickets. Dedications: This project was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic GAČR project No. 21- 47159L, Quality, safety and authenticity of insect protein-based food and feed products (INPROFF), by the METROFOOD-CZ research infrastructure project (MEYS Grant No: LM2023064) including access to its facilities and by National Resource for Agricultural Research (NAZV) project - QK23020101.

V. Poscente, G. Puzo, E. Pucci, L. Di Gregorio, A. Bevivino, C. Zoani
Chemical and microbiological approaches to assess tomato quality and safety

Tomato cultivation plays a central role in global fruit and vegetable production, providing consumers with a rich source of phytochemicals and health-beneficial nutrients. Food quality and safety represent the current duality that the food industry must address, ensuring that products contain significant amounts of nutrients and bioactive compounds, and comply the maximum allowable levels of chemical and biological contaminants. The overall quality and safety characterization of products is essential to ensure that they meet the required standards and regulations, ultimately safeguarding the health and satisfaction of consumers. Tomato fruit is a biologically dynamic matrix due to its metabolic activity and associated microbiota, and therefore fragile regarding integrity and hygiene. This study aimed to combine analytical and microbiological techniques for assessing tomato quality and safety. Solanum Lycopersicum, L. Ciliegino samples were characterised for the mineral nutrient profile and toxic and potentially toxic element content, as well as for the identification of microbial strains isolated from pulp and wash water. The elemental profile was determined by ICP-AES after microwave-assisted acid digestion. In parallel, culture-based methods were applied to carry out total viable epiphyte and endophyte counts during tomato shelf-life (15 days). Subsequent isolation and identification through DNA sequencing of the most represented colonies were performed to identify potential foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. The results suggest that integrating chemical and microbiological methodologies is necessary to establish a comprehensive quality and safety profile, providing information on the presence and levels of nutrients and contaminants, as well as on the microbial community and its evolution during the shelf-life.

N.-D. M. Luong, N. Bemrah
Caliviz: the first user-friendly tool for visualizing French total diet study data

The French Total Diet Studies (TDS) conducted by ANSES aims to monitor the exposure of several population groups to hundreds of chemicals through their food consumption. The second edition of TDS pointed out for example a dozen substances (including dioxins, PCBs, acrylamide, lead and arsenic) for which a health risk due to food contamination could not be excluded. In order to inform consumers more comprehensively about this dietary exposure and to improve risk-based official controls of food by authorities, there was a need to explore easily the collected data for identifying potential problematic food/substances pairs. In this context, the Caliviz platform was developed as an open-access and open-source interactive tool to visualize all the published data from the French TDS. Designed as a multi-tab Web App, the Caliviz platform offers multiple features to access general or detailed information collected from the second TDS. Firstly, a glossary page provides an overview of the monitored chemical contaminants as well as the potential associated health risks. Two interactives tabs offer multiple visualizations for (i) the contamination level of the different user-defined substances in the different food products and food groups and (ii) the relative contributions of the food groups to the total exposure to each substance within the adult and children populations. The users have also the possibility to adapt these visualizations depending on the assumption to deal with left-censored data (lower-bound, middle-bound or upper-bound scenarios). Finally, the platform also includes download features to easily extract data subsets associated with one or several specific food products and/or chemical contaminants. Caliviz was developed as a generic and evolving platform, giving then possibilities to integrate other data for visualizations such as those from the new upcoming edition of the French TDS or the infant TDS assessing the exposure of children under 3 years. Available in French and English version, several additional features will also be implemented in the upcoming months, such as cartographies of the contamination levels or comparison with toxicological reference values.

D. Diamantidou, E. Tsochatzis, S. Kalogiannis, H. Gika, G. Theodoridis
Poly(ethylene terepthalate) oligomers: assessing their migration in foods and food simulants using an UHPLC-qTOF-HRMS method

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is among the most common food contact materials (FCMs). Concerns about the nonintentionally added chemicals (NIAS) present in FCMs that can arise during polymerization have grown over the past few years. Specific migration restrictions for PET cyclic oligomers, which are considered as NIAS, have not yet been established by EU legislation. However, due to the lack of toxicological knowledge, their impact on human health is still unclear. Additionally, in silico calculations and evaluation of the Toxicological Threshold of Concern (TTC) established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) show that PET cyclic oligomers are Cramer III toxicity compounds, indicating a potential risk for human health. This study aims to investigate the migration of these species in common foodstuff, such as tap water and olive oil. For this purpose, an UHPLC-qTOF-HRMS was developed and validated. Due to the complexity of analysing edible oils, a QuEChERS clean-up was applied to facilitate oligomers' extraction, for the firts time in the literature. The method validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision. Calibration curves were constructed using fortified samples, and the limits of quantifications (LOQs) ranged from 10 to 50 µg L-1, while the recoveries ranged between 86.6 and 113%. Thereafter, the study evaluated the migration of PET oligomers from virgin and recycled PET FCMs into virgin olive oil (VOO), tap water and official food simulants. For this purpose, two procedures were performed and compared: 1) test conditions according to Commission Regulation EU No. 10/2011 [1] and 2) storage of VOO and water in household conditions. The results showed that after a year of storage in room temperature, there is no migration of oligomers in VOO samples or tap water. On the contrary, significant amounts of cyclic and linear PET oligomers were found in food simulants (95% ethanol and 20% ethanol) and in both types of tested PET bottles (virgin and recycled), withthe migration of PET cyclic trimer from recycled bottles being the most abundant. Our findings are in accordance with previous studies, which demonstrated that accelerated testing conditions strongly overestimate the migration under room temperature conditions [2,3].

S. Rekibi, A. Dehaut, T. Grard, G. Duflos
Quantification of organic plastic additives in plastics with (TD) Py-GC-HRMS

Plastics were revolutionary inventions that symbolized globalization and the interconnection of economies between countries in the second half of the 20th and the early of the 21st centuries. They are widely used in various industrial sectors including food packaging, construction, automotive, electronics, textiles, household items, and toys, with the current global production reaching over 370 million tons per year. These synthetic materials are made of an organic polymer matrix and chemical additives. In total, more than 10 000 additives were identified in plastics and over 2 400 are considered as substances of potential concern as they meet one or more of toxicity criteria in the European Union (toxicity for reproduction , bioaccumulation,...). These substances may leached during the plastic life cycle (to foodstuff, environment, etc), resulting in potential human exposure. Thus, the development of analytical methods capable of identifying and quantifying additives in plastics is necessary. It has been demonstrated that the thermal desorption method using a Pyrolysis coupled to GC-HRMS system can be a useful analytical tool for the rapid quantification of additives in polymer samples but method still need to be developed. For this study, additives of interest were first selected based on two main criteria: their toxicity according to the European Chemicals Agency and their migration limits set by EU Regulation No 10/2011. In total, 13 additives were selected (5 plasticizers, 6 flame retardants and 2 UV stabilizers). Then, a reflection was set up in order to consider how to evaluate the response function of additives in the context of solid-state sample direct analysis. It was chosen to develop reference material incorporating additives into a polymer matrix at specified concentration levels, to produce plastic films, using masterbatch. This process is aimed to ensure homogeneous dispersion of the additives in the polymer matrix. Finally, some preliminary analytical developments were carried out in order to perform future analyses, like acquisition of additives HRMS spectra, MS/MS patterns to select the optimum collision energies for each characteristic ion and the most abundant fragment resulting from fragmentation. A first application on solidstate plastic will be proposed.

H. Demaegdt, D. Morales, S. Ciano, E. Van Hoeck, K. Cheyns
Analysis of inorganic migrants from new alternatives for plastic food contact materials: a reason for concern?

Due to constant pressure from consumers and authorities to reduce fossil-based plastic, the food contact materials (FCM) industry is forced to develop alternative materials. While these alternative materials need to be environmentally friendly, they must also be safe for consumers. In this study, we aim to determine if and to what extent trace elements could be released from these alternative materials. In this study, 100 samples representing different materials were collected: paper analogues (bagasse, wheat), wood analogues (bamboo, palm leaves, coconut, straw, wheat), bioplastics, recycled plastics, silicones and textiles. Migration experiments were performed according to the EURL kitchenware guideline (JRC, 2021) using 3% acetic acid. Total trace element concentrations (Ag, Ti, Zn, Cu, As, Cd and Pb) in the simulant were measured with ICP-MS/MS (Agilent 8800). Additionally, a semi-quantitative scan was performed to detect other elements.The wood analogues like coconut, straw and wheat showed very little to no release of any of the seven target trace elements. The same is true for the samples made of recycled plastics, bioplastics and silicone. On the other hand, FCM made from bagasse, bamboo, or palm leaves did show the release of As, Cd or Pb, with Pb being the most recurring trace element. Almost all samples made from bagasse released Pb but still below the limit mentioned in Annex II of Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011. Four out of 12 samples made from bamboo showed the release of Pb, with one sample exceeding the 10 µg/kg limit. The interpretation of the scans and textile FCM is currently ongoing. The use of alternative FCMs made from coconut, straw and wheat, bioplastics, recycled plastics and silicone does not raise any safety concerns regarding the targeted trace elements as they are unlikely to contaminate foodstuffs that come in contact with them. On the other hand, for FCM like bagasse, bamboo and palm leaves,the release of As, Cd or Pb was detected, with Pb release exceeding the limit of Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 in one sample.

Page 13 of 955 Results 121 - 130 of 9546